Improvement in bee-hives



G, wr4 MERCHANT;

.Bee Hive. n Y

` Patented sept. 25, 1866f A ..6 7.0 V mw 0\\\\ fn) w --.s1|||\ www. l W m x y m m 4 W .a my .w M W l' IO.

GEORGE MERCHANT, OF LA PORTE, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.'

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 58,276, dated September 25, 1866.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE W. MERCHANT, of La Porte, in the county of La Porte and State ot' Indiana, have invented a new and Improved Bee-Hive 5 and I do hereby declare t-hat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan sectional view of my invention, taken in the line xx, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a side sectional View of the same, taken in the line y y, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a transverse section of a portion of a combd'rame, taken in the line z z, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts.

This invention consists in a novel construction of the hive, whereby thecomb-frames are rendered Very accessible for the inspection of the combs, the removin got' portions ofthe same,

when necessary, 85e.

The invention also consists in a novel manner of hanging the comb-frames within the hive, and also in constructing said frames, whereby the bees will be prevented from buildin g their combs between the frames; and, further, in a novel arrangement of the sparehoney box,'whereby the bees are allowed to enter the same direct, and not pass through the hive containing the brood-combs.

A represents the main hive, which contains the brood-combs. This hive has one permanent or xed side, a, and three jointed or hinged sides, b b b", the sides b b being hinged to the permanent side a, and the side b hinged to the end ofthe side b'. By this arrangement the three sides above specified may be thrown open and all of the comb-frames exposed. y

The comb-frames (designated byB) are hinged to the permanent or fixed side a. Theseframes are of rectangular form, and they are provided with eyebolts c at their rear sides, and these eyebolts are fitted on vertical rods d, the lower ends of' which are secured to the permanent side a.. The upper ends of the rods d are fitted in hooks e, and the latter may be readily adjusted into and out from the former.I A

The upper eyebolts c are fitted on the rods The comb -frames have their inner edges rounded, as shown atf in Fig.' l, to admit ot' said frames being swung open or moved without danger of crushing the bees 5 and the unA der sides, a', of the top rails, g, ofthe comb- .frames are rounded or made of semicircular form in their transverse section, and also roughened, in order to enable the bees to readilyattach their combs to the frames. These top rails, g, are made ot'considerable depth, in order to prevent the bees from building the combs between them. The combs, therefore, will be built within the frames, and the latter left free to swing or move whenever the sides ot the hive are opened.

O represents a spare-honey box, which is fitted within a box, D, adjoining vt-he hive A. The bee entrance or passage E to the hive A is underneath the box C, and an opening', h, is made in the bottom of O to admit of the bees passing into it direct from the passage E. B y this means the bees are allowed to deposit their spare honey directly in C without passing through the hive A, and much labor is saved the bees by the arrangement.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination of the hive A and frame B with the honey-box G, in such a manner as to admit of the removal of spare honey in box O without disturbing the bees in the breedinghive, and also of the examination of the broodcombs without disturbing the bees in the honey-box C, substantially as represented and described.

2. The spare-honey box C, arranged over the bee entrance or passage E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

GEO. WV. MERCHANT.

Witnesses WILLIAM ANDREW, A. T. BLIss. 

